New sculpture test.

Projects, Stuff and Things

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I decided to get motivated on a new set of sculptures. I have this idea for a new series, something about tv headed creatures wearing tuxedos.

I thought instead of drawing a lot of things this time I would just get something out thwre. I need to work on the ratios. I might make the head a little bigger and the suit a little more dynamic.

I’m also thinking of getting away from the ‘half sculpture in a plaque’ things. I might make this one into a full bust. That way it would be easier to plug into the wall and make this thing a lamp.

Fixing a Scion key the Schumaker way

Projects, Stuff and Things

My Scion key exploded one day.

If this is like my other experiences with my Scion tC there’s probably a bunch of other people out there that this has happened to. The problem is that the Scion TC key fob from 2005 has a one piece rubber gasket/buttons that covers the insides of the fob. After a few years of pressing on it with your long fingernails (that you really should cut you dirty animal). The rubber breaks down and comes off in chunks. Which leaves you digging into the plastic housing to press the buttons.  Eventually one day you’ll notice a small crack in the side of the key fob, but you’ll ignore it because you have better things to do and can’t be bothered to do any kind of fixing. Then you’ll turn the key for the 10000th time and the fob will turn but the key will not and the metal part will break off in the ignition. FYL.

So the first thing you should try is JB Weld, big ole gob in there and press the whole thing back together like a double stuffed oreo. This will work for a while, probably about 2 years. So you’re good… for a while.

Then it will break again in some slightly different way that you can glue back together. Then you will forget about it because you’re not going to shell out $65 for a new key when you have another, perfectly good key… You’re not made of money!

What I am made of is the ability to fix things. So if you find yourself in a similar situation, grab the key parts and lets go.

 

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The first thing to do is grab the Dremel and the smallest grinder bit you can find. There’s a little rectangular thing that’s epoxied into the body of the key. That’s the rfid tag that identifies the key. Just blast that thing with the grinder, but try do to chew away too much of the plastic. Also watch out for little flying bits of metal, they can make for a very bad day. You have to get pretty much all of it out of there because you have to cut the other one from your dismantled key and glue it in there.  Getting the key part our of the ‘good’ key is actually a little tricky, they must have molded the key around the metal part of the key, because there is no seam to break. So my solution was to cut along the top of the metal key with an xacto knife so that you leave the outside wall of the plastic intact, but still removing the key. It’s tricky, and at some point you’ll think… this will never work, I should just get a key. But push through, this just might work. Then just take the key part and fit it into the hole that you’ve made.

It’s really not that hard, you’re just basically replacing the plastic part. So get to work, crafty disgruntled Scion owners.

Rehabbing the greatest beerpong table of all time.

Projects, Stuff and Things

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It’s been a while since Ive worked on this thing. It never really was finished in the first place. We needed it to be ready for Halloween 2006 so we just tucked in all the wires and put it out on the deck.

It stayed out there for 4 years.

Not withstanding the occasional indoor game in the front room. Then the guys moved out of the house and I became guardian of the table. We set it up a few times at the Oakton house, my birthday was celebrated by a game in the yard. It’s see some good times. If you’re thinking now is the time where I say that IM getting rid of it… Dream on buster. I’m finally giving it the shrine it deserves. I’ll eventually finish designing the “fold down mount”. But for now I just want to get it up on the wall. But while I’m doing that I thought it would be a good time to secure some wires and clean it up a little.

I’ll post some pictures later.

I love it when things just work out

Projects, Stuff and Things

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Hey Internet,
Just so you know… if you plug in a $9 trendnet wifi dongle to the Patriot BoxOffice it will wirelessly stream video’s with minimal configuration. I think this is awesome because this is not how cheap electronics worked in the past. It’s pretty great that things just work.

Patriot Box Office

Trendnet WIFI Adaptor